Between the Sheets (The Isley Brothers album)

Between the Sheets is the 22nd album released by The Isley Brothers on their T-Neck imprint on April 24, 1983. The album is notable for the title track, the follow-up hit "Choosey Lover", and the ballad "Touch Me".

Background

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]

The Isley Brothers recorded songs for the album to react to disappointing sales of their albums, Inside You and The Real Deal, albums that failed to sell and produce no hit single. The group returned to Bearsville Studios in November of 1982 to work on the album. Like previous albums, all the instrumentation and composition was handled by Chris Jasper, Ernie Isley and younger brother Marvin. Some songs were initially devised as songs for a splinter project the trio were working on. Eventually, however, lead singer Ronald Isley sought interest in a few of the tracks, including the title song, which was composed by the trio of Jasper and the younger Isley brothers in response to Marvin Gaye's hit, "Sexual Healing".

Adding additional composition, Ronald helped to compose "Choosey Lover" with the younger brothers with the melody based on Earth, Wind & Fire's "Devotion". Other songs reflected on social commentary included "Slow Down Children", aimed at inner city youth, and the anti-war song, "Ballad for the Fallen Soldier". Much like The Real Deal, Jasper and the other Isleys began adding background vocals to the tracks, whereas in previous Isley records, the vocals had been handled primarily by Ronald and older brothers Kelly and Rudolph. Lead vocals in some songs were often shared by one or two of the brothers. But throughout the entire album, most of the album was vocally led by Ronald.

Release

Released the following April, the album returned the Isleys to the top of the R&B album charts and also peaked at number 19 on the Billboard 200. Both "Between the Sheets" and "Choosey Lover" became top ten hits on the R&B charts with "Between the Sheets" performing below the Hot 100. "Ballad for the Fallen Soldier" and "Let's Make Love Tonight" were released as promotional singles. Although it was not a single, the ballad "Touch Me" was also a hit. Eventually the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipments of one million copies alone in the United States.

The following year, due to tax problems the three elder Isley members were dealing with at the time, Ernie, Marvin and Chris Jasper left the group and formed Isley-Jasper-Isley.

Track listing

All tracks written by Ernie Isley, Marvin Isley, Chris Jasper, Rudolph Isley, O'Kelly Isley and Ronald Isley.

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Choosey Lover"	4:41
2.	"Touch Me"	5:11
3.	"I Need Your Body"	4:39
4.	"Between the Sheets"	5:39
5.	"Let's Make Love Tonight"	4:48

Side two
No.	Title	Length
6.	"Ballad for the Fallen Soldier"	5:18
7.	"Slow Down Children"	4:21
8.	"Way Out Love"	4:11
9.	"Gettin' Over"	3:44
10.	"Rock You Good"	3:34

2011 reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Between the Sheets" (Instrumental Version)	4:56
12.	"Choosey Lover" (Instrumental Version)	4:42
13.	"I Need Your Body" (Instrumental Version)	4:36
14.	"Let's Make Love Tonight" (Instrumental Version)	4:46
15.	"Between the Sheets" (Single Version)	4:54

Personnel

Ronald Isley: lead and background vocals
O'Kelly Isley, Jr.: background vocals, co-lead on "Slow Down Children"
Rudolph Isley: background vocals, co-lead on "Way Out Love" and "Slow Down Children"
Ernie Isley: guitars, drum programming, percussion and background vocals (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9)
Marvin Isley: bass, percussion and background vocals (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9)
Chris Jasper: piano, keyboards, synthesizers, percussion, vocoder and background vocals (tracks 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9), lead vocals on "Rock You Good", co-lead on "Way Out Love", rap on "I Need Your Body" and "Ballad for the Fallen Soldier"

Charts

Chart (1983)	Peak position
Billboard Pop Albums^[2]	19
Billboard Top Soul Albums^[2]	1

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions^[2]
Year	Single	US R&B
1983	"Between the Sheets"	3
1983	"Choosey Lover"	6

Samples and covers

The Notorious B.I.G. sampled "Between the Sheets" on his song "Big Poppa" from his 1994 album Ready to Die.
Keith Murray sampled "Between the Sheets" on his song "The Most Beautifullest Thing in This World" on his album The Most Beautifullest Thing in This World in 1994.
Da Brat sampled "Between the Sheets" on her song "Funkdafied" on her album Funkdafied in 1994.
Aaliyah covered "Choosey Lover" on her album One in a Million in 1996.
Jay-Z sampled "Ballad for the Fallen Soldier" on his song "A Week Ago" on his album Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life in 1998.
Whitney Houston sampled "Between the Sheets" on her song One of Those Days from her 2002 album Just Whitney.
Gwen Stefani sampled "Between the Sheets" on her song "Luxurious" from her 2004 album "Love. Angel. Music. Baby.".

External links

The Isley Brothers-Between The Sheets at Discogs

References

↑ Lytle, Craig. The Isley Brothers: Between The Sheets > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
1 2 3 "The Isley Brothers US albums chart history". allmusic.com. Retrieved September 3, 2011.

The Isley Brothers

Ernie Isley Marvin Isley O'Kelly Isley, Jr. Ronald Isley Rudolph Isley Chris Jasper

Studio albums	Shout! Twist & Shout Twisting and Shouting This Old Heart of Mine Soul on the Rocks It's Our Thing The Brothers: Isley Get into Something Givin' It Back Brother, Brother, Brother 3 + 3 Live It Up The Heat Is On Harvest for the World Go for Your Guns Showdown Winner Takes All Go All the Way Grand Slam Inside You The Real Deal Between the Sheets Masterpiece Smooth Sailin' Spend the Night Tracks of Life Mission to Please Eternal Body Kiss Baby Makin' Music

Live albums	Live at Yankee Stadium The Isleys Live Live!

Compilation albums	Timeless

Singles	"I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door" "Shout (Part 1)" "How Deep Is the Ocean?" "Twist and Shout" "Nobody but Me" "Testify (Part 1)" "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" "This Old Heart of Mine (Is Weak for You)" "I Guess I'll Always Love You" "That's the Way Love Is" "Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)" "Behind a Painted Smile" "Put Yourself in My Place" "It's Your Thing" "I Turned You On" "Keep On Doin'" "Freedom" "Love the One You're With" "Spill the Wine" "Lay Lady Lay" "Lay-Away" "Pop That Thang" "Work to Do" "It's Too Late" "That Lady (Part 1)" "What It Comes Down To" "Summer Breeze" "Live It Up" "Fight the Power (Part 1)" "For the Love of You" "Harvest for the World" "The Pride" "Livin' in the Life" "Voyage to Atlantis" "Take Me to the Next Phase (Part 1)" "Groove with You" "I Wanna Be with You (Part 1)" "It's a Disco Night (Rock Don't Stop)" "Don't Say Goodnight (It's Time for Love) (Parts 1 & 2)" "Between the Sheets" "Choosey Lover" "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know)" "Contagious"

See also	Discography T-Neck Records Isley-Jasper-Isley

Book:The Isley Brothers Category:The Isley Brothers Portal:R&B and Soul Music

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